Blaze in Paris apartment building leaves 8 dead, including 2 children

Investigators hide a building entrance after a fire broke out Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 in Paris, France. Officials say eight people died in an apartment fire early Wednesday and police are investigating a possible criminal origin of the blaze. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (The Associated Press)

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A rescue worker climbs a ladder after a fire broke out at a building, Wednesday, Sept.2, 2015 in Paris, France. Officials say eight people died in an apartment fire early Wednesday and police are investigating a possible criminal origin of the blaze. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (The Associated Press)

A rescue worker reacts after working at a fire Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 in Paris, France. Officials say eight people died in an apartment fire early Wednesday and police are investigating a possible criminal origin of the blaze. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (The Associated Press)

PARIS – French officials say eight people died in an apartment fire early Wednesday in Paris and police are investigating whether the fire was started intentionally.

Speaking on French TV BFM, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the dead included two children. Four survivors are hospitalized.

Brandet said the firefighters extinguished a small paper fire around 0023 GMT in the building, located at the foot of Paris' famed Montmartre hill. They were called back two hours later for a new fire that began in a ground floor stairwell and quickly engulfed the building's upper stories.

More than 100 firefighters were required to extinguish the blaze.